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Joyce, Timberlane outlast Salem in thriller

Saturday, September, 29 By David Willis
Staff writer

SALEM — As he broke through the line, Timberlane’s Billy Joyce had just the quarterback in his sights. That, and a victory.

“I knew we won as soon as I tackled him,” said Joyce. “I knew it was finally over.”

Joyce ended any chance of a miracle finish, bursting in to sack Salem quarterback Ryan Nichols before he could release a Hail Mary pass as time expired to give Timberlane a wild 27-24 victory over the Blue Devils yesterday afternoon.

“Billy made that huge play and it was such a huge relief,” said Ryan McCarthy. “We all wanted to beat Salem, and all that matters is the score at the end. We deserved to win this.”

This marked the first victory for the Owls over Salem since the 2008 season, and the Blue Devils had won the previous two matchups by a combined 108-26 margin.

“We wanted this one so bad,” said Corey Saltalamacchia. “They blew us out last year, so we wanted some revenge. We made a few mistakes, but we stayed strong and got the ‘W.’”

The game appeared to be turning into a blowout early, as Timberlane jumped out to a 21-0 lead just 59 seconds into the second quarter. But the Blue Devils rallied all the way back, and with 2:50 left in the contest, faced a fourth-and-3 at their 48-yard line trailing by just three points.

The Owls were able to stage one final stand, as Joyce and Saltalamacchia combined to stuff Salem running back Jason Martinez for a 2-yard loss, all but clinching the victory.

“That was a pretty huge play,” said Joyce. “I stunted the guard, went right and made the play with Salty. It meant a lot to finish it like that.”

Following the tackle, both were mobbed by Owls teammates.

“That was a game-changer,” said McCarthy. “To only be up by three points, and those guys coming through to make that big play was huge. Once we got that we knew we were in good position.”

Timberlane took control early, led by red-hot quarterback Erik Nelson. He threw touchdown passes to Zach Downey (9 yards) and Josh David (23 yards) in the first, then hit Downey again for an 11-yard score in the second.

But back came Salem, as Jason Martinez scored from 2 yards out, then Jacob Lakos connected with Jacob Poore on a 25-yard score to make it 21-12 at the half.

Nelson struck again with a 6-yard touchdown strike to Joyce early in the third, but Salem struck twice in the fourth, first on a Martinez 2-yard run, then Alex Magoon picked up a fumble and ran it back 55 yards for a score.

But the Joyce Owls slammed the door from there.

Nelson finished the day 19-of-22 throwing for 209 yards and the four scores. Corey Saltalamacchia paced the Owls’ defense with 10 tackles, a sack and an interception to set up a score, and Joyce had two sacks and eight other stops. McCarthy chipped in with an interception of his own.

“This is a big rivalry and a big win,” said lineman Jamie Saltalamacchia. “It was a big buildup, and we had to beat this team, no excuses. Maybe we gave up a few more points than we should have, but we came through at the end.”